Le Pen ‘exploited Paris shooting to boost campaign’

Mourners gathered today near the scene of yesterday’s shooting on the Champs-ÉlyséesGetty Images

The two right-wing candidates in France’s presidential election seized upon last night’s terrorist attack in Paris to pledge an implacable fight against radical Islam.

Marine Le Pen, the National Front leader, and François Fillon, 63, the opposition Republicans candidate, were accused of exploiting the shooting of a police officer on the Champs-Élysées in a scramble for votes before the first round of the election tomorrow.

Both are engaged in a tight race with Emmanuel Macron, the independent centrist, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left contender, for the two places in the second round run-off on May 7.

Ms Le Pen said the French authorities had been guilty of “blindness and weakness” in the struggle against radical Islam, while Mr Fillon claimed they had failed to “measure…